Iran Blasts S. Arabia for Widening Gaps among Muslims

“Despite President Rouhani’s constructive remarks that extremism and terrorism and not Saudi Arabia is Iran’s problem, Saudi Arabia still beat the drum of differences to the last moment (of the OIC summit),” Baeedinejad said on Saturday.

He underlined that differences between Iran and Saudi Arabia derive from the regional issues.

His remarks came after Riyadh and its allies supported inclusion of certain anti-Iran and anti-Hezbollah paragraphs in the final statement of the OIC summit.

In reaction to the Saudis’ move, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif warned the them against the outcomes of their unconstructive plots and acts against Tehran, reminding them of the fate of former Iraqi Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz who died in prison last year.

Addressing the Tuesday meeting of the OIC summit in Istanbul, Zarif described the Saudis’ move as against the spirit of Islamic solidarity and in line with the Zionist regime’s interests.

He reminded of the instrumental use of the OIC during the Iraqi-imposed war against Iran (1980-1988), and said, “At that time, Mr. Tariq Aziz, the then Iraqi foreign minister, provided the ground for the approval of certain paragraphs against Iran with the support of certain regional states but we didn’t pay any attention to that anti-Iran approach. We should take lessons from the past. See where Tariq Aziz is now.”

Zarif also blasted Riyadh and its allies’ approach against the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance group, and said, “This act merely gladdens and encourages the Zionist regime.”

He stressed the necessity for the OIC to pursue a policy of strengthening unity among the Islamic states.

Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic relations with Iran on January 3 following demonstrations held in front of its embassy in Tehran and its consulate in Mashhad by angry protesters censuring the Al Saud family for the execution of prominent Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr in Riyadh on January 2.

Nimr’s execution caused international outrage and sparked anti-Saudi demonstrations in many other countries.

Riyadh has also been attempting to rock the boat in relations between Iran and other world states and has spared no efforts to pressure Tehran.